HC pulls up social welfare dept for stalling Vikhroli building redevelopment

The Bombay High Court criticized the social welfare department for delaying redevelopment of a dilapidated building, warning officials of personal liability if mishaps occur.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has come down heavily on the state social welfare department for obstructing the redevelopment of a dangerously dilapidated 50-year-old building in Kannamwar Nagar, Vikhroli East, warning that its officers would be held personally liable if any mishap occurs.

HC pulls up social welfare dept for stalling Vikhroli building redevelopment

A division bench of justices GS Kulkarni and Arif Doctor last week directed the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) to clear within 15 days the redevelopment proposal of Yug Pravartak Cooperative Housing Society, which houses 20 families. The court clarified that Mhada should not insist on a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the social welfare department.

The judges expressed “shock and surprise” at the stay imposed by the department’s assistant commissioner, especially since one nearby building had already collapsed—killing 19 people—while another had tilted.

Formed in 1975, the society was originally built for war-rehabilitated residents with a loan from the Maharashtra Co-operative Housing Finance Society, which was repaid in full. A deed of reconveyance was executed in 2006. Despite this, in July 2024 the social welfare department denied redevelopment approval, citing government resolutions issued in 1998 and 2023 that restrict redevelopment of societies for backward-class members or war-rehabilitation beneficiaries.

Rejecting this stand, the bench held that applying such resolutions retrospectively would be illegal. “The petitioner is in dire need of redevelopment, as there is every likelihood that the building would collapse, as suffered by other buildings in the vicinity. There cannot be any retrospective application of the Government Resolutions of the year 1998 and 2023,” the order stated.

Noting that most members of the society are senior citizens, the court stressed that redevelopment must not be delayed any further. It directed Mhada to process the society’s proposal and grant permission within 15 days to ensure early redevelopment.